RCN Congress

That the Parliament notes the debate at the 2015 Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Congress in Bournemouth on 23 June on the reported crisis in accident and emergency services; notes the view of Theresa Fyffe, the director of RCN Scotland, that the present system is both unsustainable and experiencing an almost constant growth in demand; believes that A&E waiting times in Scotland have improved thanks to the dedication and hard work of NHS staff, but understands that the four-hour waiting time target is still being missed; recognises what it sees as the ever-increasing pressure on emergency medicine teams to treat older people and people with complex needs who present to A&E departments because of a lack of sufficient community resources to meet their needs; believes that carefully planned integration of health and social care services, has the potential to relieve some pressures in acute settings, such as delayed discharges; considers that more resources need to be put into community care services to reduce the pressure on A&E departments, and believes that, in order to build an NHS that meets the needs of patients and is sustainable for future generations, the Scottish Government must listen to the expert opinion of health and care professionals about how best to tackle the growing problems in A&E and community care and take note of the experience and views of the public.